Senior defenseman Patrick Holway had the game-winning goal and an assist for the Warriors
Holway Goal Sends Merrimack Past Massachusetts, 3-2
Senior defenseman Patrick Holway had the game-winning goal and an assist for the Warriors

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The youth shined for the Merrimack College men's hockey team Sunday night at Lawler Rink, as the Warriors' young core lifted them to a 3-2 win over #8/9 Massachusetts. A trio of players, Alex Jefferies, Patrick Holway and Zach Vinnell all registered two points night on a goal and an assist and Zachary Borgiel made 17 saves to win his first collegiate start.


The Basics

Score: Merrimack 3, 8/9 Massachusetts 2
Records: Merrimack (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HEAM) | Massachusetts (2-3-1, 0-0-0 HEAM)
Game Duration: 2:15


How It Happened

- Merrimack began the game with plenty of energy and registered the first five shots of the game in the early going. The Warriors also enjoyed a trio of power plays and were able to capitalize on the second midway through the frame. Holway started the play from the right point when he fed Jefferies on the far half wall. Holway traded places at the point with Vinnell, then Jefferies fired a pass to Vinnell at the right point. The sophomore crept in and wired a wrist shot top shelf past Minutemen goalie, Matt Murray.

- Borgiel, in his first collegiate start, was perfect on all seven shots he faced in the opening stanza.

- Massachusetts needed just 27 seconds to even up the score in the second when Carson Gicewicz beat Borgiel.

- Just three minutes later, Jefferies was at it again. While they broke out of the zone, Logan Drevitch bumped a pass to Chase Gresock, who chipped it forward for Jefferies. The freshman took the puck at the defensive blue line, blew past a defender, and beat Murray on the far side for his first collegiate goal.

- The Minutemen had another answer just under seven minutes into the period when Cal Kiefiuk scored on a man advantage.

- Merrimack kept the back-and-forth trend alive at the midway mark of the frame. After a lengthy possession in the attacking end, Filip Forsmark fed the point to Vinnell. He took a shot towards goal that was deftly tipped in front by Holway, who had pinched down in the zone, and got past Murray. The assist marked Forsmark's first collegiate point.

- The Warrior defense clamped down hard in the final period and only allowed one shot on goal for the entire 20 minutes, as Merrimack skated away with its first win of the season.


Notes & Numbers

- Jefferies finished his impressive opening weekend of college hockey with three points (1 G, 2 A) and led the team with a +2 rating.

- Gresock led all skaters in the game with four shots on goal.

- The two-point night marked Vinnell's second career multi-point game and Holway's seventh.

- Drevitch and Gresock both finished with two points on the weekend after they factored into Merrimack's lone goal Saturday at UMass.

- Dating back to last season, Merrimack has now played five straight games against ranked opponents and holds a 3-2 record.

- This marks Merrimack's first win against a top-10 opponent since they knocked off #2 Denver Dec. 29, 2017 in Colorado.


Up Next

The Warriors travel to Matthews Arena Dec. 12 to take on Northeastern with a 6:00 pm puck drop. The game is set to be aired live on NESN.

Game Summary

Sunday, December 6, 2020

2
3
Game statistics
19 Shots 22
1 / 4 Power Plays 1 / 6
6 / 12 PIM 4 / 8
2-3-1 Records 1-1-0
GOAL SCORERS
Massachusetts Merrimack
Zach Vinnell (1)
1st/11:07 PP
Carson Gicewicz (1)
2nd/0:27
Alex Jefferies (1)
2nd/3:51
Cal Kiefiuk (2)
2nd/6:49 PP
Patrick Holway (1)
2nd/10:06  GW
GOALTENDERS
Massachusetts Merrimack
Matt Murray
59:30, 19 Saves, 3 GA
(L, 2-2-0)

Empty Net
0:30, 0 GA
Zachary Borgiel
59:47, 17 Saves, 2 GA
(W, 1-1-0)

Empty Net
0:13, 0 GA